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If you’re visiting Floriade in Canberra’s Commonwealth Park this year, take time out to visit its gin garden bar, Clink!
Operated by Underground Spirits, a Canberra distillery that produces exceptional small-batch spirits, the garden is a delightful spot to rest and relax amongst the blooms.
Surrounded by garden beds of rosemary, Tasmanian pepperberry and other garnishes, it has tables and comfy chairs, shade umbrellas, wheelbarrows of tulips, and even a bright red old-style phone box that draws lots of attention.
Underground Spirits makes a range of gin with core botanicals of juniper, coriander and angelica complemented by botanicals that are an expression of Australia and Canberra in particular.
Its complete back-catalogue is on offer at Floriade, along with a range of gin-filled experiences including a Gin Melody (choose and create 4 mini G & T’s) and a Cocktail Melody (comprising a leading-note cocktail, small bites, and a G &T of choice).
The spirits are served with Fever-Tree tonic or soda, and the small bites include a couple of nice cheeses, crackers, olives, and cured meats.
We were invited to clink our glasses in the spring sunshine, opting for the Cocktail Melody. The cocktail it comes with changes every so often throughout Floriade, and on our visit earlier this week it was the Canberra Raiders Anniversary Gin, an appropriately bright green creation.
Made to celebrate the Canberra Raiders’ 40th anniversary in 2022, the gin draws on botanicals such as Dooja lime, desert lime, finger lime, Canberra bells, strawberry gum, and river mint. It has a definite smell and taste of mint, as well as earthy and sweet notes (“a layer of sherbet” is how the distillery describes it).
The G & T we chose was Underground’s Magnum Opus Gin, a limited-edition gin made in collaboration with the National Capital Art Prize. Its botanicals include bunya nuts and pomegranate.
The Floriade theme for 2022 is Sounds of Spring so it was appropriate that while we were kicking back in the gin garden, we could hear a great line-up of music from the main stage, punctuated by the sounds of a didgeridoo coming from an adjacent pavilion.
Underground Spirits presents the Clink! Gin Garden for the duration of Floriade, until Sunday, October 16.
For more photos from Floriade 2022, visit our post here.
